Snapshot: Russian Muslim Fans Pay Tribute To Israeli Player With Message In Hebrew

An example of how football can actually break down all those silly barriers in the world, Muslim fans of Russian side Rubin Kazan went to the trouble of having a banner, which paid tribute to Israeli midfielder Bibras Natkho, translated into Hebrew for the player.

when I initially saw this tweet , I thought “damn those russians, first bananas, now banners?” but on reading , its a nice gesture and a sign of progress I hope. good on them, and good on you WAATP for keeping me in suspense!

You forget that Israel is home to people from all religions and Bibras Natkho is actually a Muslim himself… The gesture therefore is one in appreciation of a player who cannot read Russian rather than anything to do with race.